The blog has moved to a new site – click here to access Katherine’s Longview blog.
What is an historical novelist who writes about Simon de Montfort and the thirteenth century doing blogging about the current state of the world? Montfort set in motion the method of government by popular election that now prevails in most modern nations. He wasn’t interested in the past; he didn’t have a sentimental view of medieval times, he was interested in his present time, the future and how well the general population would do governing themselves. Seven hundred years later, how are we doing?
Government by popular election requires a responsible, well-informed electorate. We have the technological means to be very well informed, virtually instantly now. But the key to what fills that IT, and how it is used is that word — responsibility. That’s what we’re going to be talking about here. Montfort, if he’s reading over my shoulder, no doubt would prefer this to discussion of times past.
